Berntson Bhattacharjee is proud to present Smörgåsbord: a group exhibition celebrating Nordic contemporary art. In collaboration with Angeliki Kim Perfetti, a Swedish art historian, writer and curator, this exhibition offers a delectable spread of artistic talent, exploring the nuanced character of the region’s art scene.
Featuring six prominent artists from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland to present their unique practices – Johan Deckmann, Baldur Helgason, Jenni Hiltunen, Sally Kindberg, Shoplifter, and Constance Tenvik – the exhibition defies the notion of moderation in Nordic art, instead embracing a bold and vibrant approach. Through their distinctive practices, the exhibiting artists bring warmth and joy to the darkest days in the north. The winter hibernation fosters a surge of creativity and a desire for vibrant colours and social connections. Smörgåsbord presents a journey through Nordic creativity, embracing boundless artistic expression.
Deckmann is both an artist and practising psychotherapist. He ingeniously repurposes found books by painting them with satirical phrases, reflecting life's complexities. Drawing from his background in psychology, he creates artworks that evoke universal fears and challenges, utilising language playfully to provoke self-reflection.
Baldur's work captures the essence of modern life through an expressionistic style that blends nostalgia, humour, and mania. Using a classic cartoon aesthetic, his work explores themes of identity, sexuality, and the human condition by subverting and depicting the human form. Despite tackling raw subject matter, his art ultimately uplifts and empowers, reminding us of the joy, beauty, and meaning inherent in our existence, even amidst life's darkest moments.
Hiltunen's canvases boldly challenge conventional norms of gender and identity, drawing inspiration from the pages of fashion magazines and art history. She skillfully exaggerates without moralising, dismantling conventional representations of femininity with a reflective rather than declarative attitude. Her work navigates the intersection of personal yearning and collective experience, weaving melancholy with humour and emphasising the joy of painting through bold strokes and vibrant colours.
Exploring the interconnectedness of high and low culture, Kindberg's paintings serve as a mirror to our collective desires and triumphs. With a keen eye for the absurdities of modern life, her figurative compositions blur reality and abstraction, tragedy and comedy. Her humorous approach acts as a portal that enables us to explore our more unsavoury emotions.
Best known for her inventive use of both synthetic and natural hair, Shoplifter's sculptures and installations probe the cultural constructs of vanity, beauty, and self-image. For her, hair serves as both a medium of expression and a profound symbol of individuality. Humour plays a large role in her life and work, sometimes subtly, but at other times taking over.
Tenvik's artistic practice encompasses painting, textile design, music, and curatorial projects, allowing for an unconstrained exploration of expression. Her paintings focus on highly stylised portraiture, portraying the human form with vibrant twists and curves, infusing static figures with a dynamic sense of motion. Through intersecting forms and patterns, Tenvik creates a unified plane of vivid colour, blending individual figures with their emotions and movements into a cohesive whole.
About the artists
Jenni Hiltunen (b. 1981) is a Finnish artist living and working in Helsinki. She graduated from the Turku Arts Academy in 2004 and the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki in 2007. She has held several solo exhibitions including, Add Red or Not at Mimmo Scognamiglio Artecontemporanea, Milan (2023); Alone, online exhibition, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles (2022); Purple Grass, Galleria Forsblom, Helsinki (2022); and Three Voices, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki (2019). Hiltunen has actively participated in group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad, some of which include Out of Nowhere, Mänttä Art Festival, Mänttä, Finland (2023); Winter Garden, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki (2022). Her work is represented in the State Art Collection, Finnish Art Association, Finnish National Gallery Kiasma and in a number of private collections.
Sally Kindberg (b. 1970) is a Swedish artist living and working in London. She received her MFA and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, London. Kindberg has exhibited internationally with recent solo exhibitions, including Lounge at Everyday Mooonday in Seoul, South Korea (2024); Saga at Wentrup Gallery, Berlin (2023); Calendar at Public Service Gallery, Stockholm (2023); Lay of the Land at Thierry Goldberg, New York, USA (2022); Dream Palace at Everyday Mooonday, Seoul, South Korea (2022). Her work has been featured in many group exhibitions including, Fembot, The Hole, NYC (2023); BEACH at Nino Mier Gallery, New York (2023); Solidarity, NEXX Asia, Taipei (2023); Woman Wears Daily, curated by Stems Gallery at Volery Gallery, Dubai (2023); Once upon a Time in Mayfair, Phillips Auction House, curated by Angeliki Kim Perfetti, London (2022); amongst others. Kindberg was included in the John Moores Painting Prize 2020, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2021).
Constance Tenvik (b. London, 1990) is a Norwegian artist who adopts a multidisciplinary approach to installations, integrating sculpture, performance, textile, costumes, painting, drawing and video. She received her MFA from Yale University School of Art in New Haven (2016), CT and BFA from the Academy of Art in Oslo (2014). Tenvik has held several solo exhibitions internationally, including Finding Shelter Under A Giant’s Tongue, Harkawik, New York (2023); Aloof Periwigs, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles (2022); Azuresque, Hoffman Maler Wallenberg, Nice (2022); Long Reaching Gloves, Loyal Gallery, Stockholm (2021); Falling Eye Lashes, ISCA gallery, Oslo (2021). Recent group exhibitions include El Royale II, Loyal Gallery in El Royale, Los Angeles (2024); The Day I Saw You, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City (2023); A broom will leap out of the forest, NADA Miami, Miami (2023); An island called Everything, The Armory Show, New York (2023).
Shoplifter (Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, b. 1969) is one of Iceland’s leading contemporary artists, born in Reykjavik and based in New York since 1994. Recent solo exhibitions include Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm, Sweden (2020), The Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia (2020), Kiasma, the Finnish National Gallery (2019), the National Gallery of Iceland (2017), the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles (2017) and the Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art in Australia (2016). Notable projects and awards include her large window installation created in collaboration with art collective avaf for MoMA, Museum of Modern Art in New York (2008), The Nordic Award in Textiles and The Prince Eugen Medal for artistic achievement from the King and Royal Crown of Sweden (2011).
Baldur Helgason (b. 1984) is an Icelandic and American visual artist living and working in Reykjavík, Iceland. Recent solo exhibitions include Acts of Worship, Anna Zorina Gallery, New York (2023); Antics, WOAW Gallery, Hong Kong (2022); Bad Timing, Ojiri Gallery, London (2021). Group shows include Good Artists Copy, Bad Artists Steal, Artcurial & Marco Pesarese Fine Art, Munich (2022); 2022 Once Upon a Time a Man Was Glued to a Nose, Matias Sanchez, Gallery Zink, Walkirchen, Germany and Ojiri Gallery London (2022); Báran Létt, Miðin Djúp, Gletta, Borgarfjörður Eystri (2022); Misa Discoveries, Koenig Gallery, Berlin (2021); WoP, WOAW Gallery, Hong Kong (2021 ); Raw Power, Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland (2021).
Johan Deckmann (b. 1976) is a Danish artist working and living in Copenhagen, Denmark. As both an artist and practising psychotherapist, Deckmann received his education at the Copenhagen Graphic School, Copenhagen (1994) and the Danish Institute of Psychotherapy, Copenhagen (2007). Recent solo exhibitions include The Art of Not Falling Apart, Galerie Mighela Shama, Geneva (2021); You May Not Want To Hear This, MAKI Gallery [Tennoz], Tokyo (2021); Johan Deckmann, Galerie SOON, Zurich (2021). Deckmann has participated in several group exhibitions internationally, including Bibliomania – Das Buch in der Kunst, Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany (2022); He aprendido que tienes que rezar por lo que no conoces, Sala Amós Salvador, Logroño, Spain (2022); Restoration: Now or Never, public art exhibition, SaveArtSpace, London (2021); Paper | Work, Rhodes Contemporary Art, London (2021). Deckmann’s work is also part of the public art collection Colección SOLO in Madrid.
